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Way of the Wicked Playthrough - Updated 2023/03/28
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<blockquote data-quote="rchodges" data-source="post: 8518544" data-attributes="member: 7031385"><p><strong>Part 1:</strong> Knot of Thorns</p><p><strong>Act 4: </strong>Burning Balentyne!</p><p><strong>Session 12:</strong> Shards of the Broken Wall</p><p></p><p>“They’re coming out!”, Lucius excitedly relayed to the rest of the group, “I think we’re about to have our conflict!”</p><p>Donovan was confused by this. While the situation in the Watch Wall could not be going well for the soldiers, it was only three days since the food supplies had been cut. There was no way Commander Havelyn could already be desperate. “What is Lucinda seeing exactly?”, Donovan pressed Lucius for more information.</p><p>Lucius elaborated further. According to the information he was receiving from the Eidolon, two groups of soldiers had come out in front of Balentyne, each of them in a Chevron formation. Additionally, archers were standing on the top of the primary Keep wall leading back into Aldencross. While Lucinda could hear shouting coming from the groups of soldiers, she couldn’t make out the specifics of what was being said.</p><p>Bebop spoke up excitedly, “They are going to attack the city for food supplies. I know how this military is, as soon as things start going bad, they’ll take what they want from the civilians.”</p><p>Donovan pondered Bebop’s statement and smiled briefly. Oh, if only that were true! It would be a way for his family to show Talingarde for all its shortcomings. But Donovan remained skeptical. “I would suspect they are performing drills, trying to see if there’s any response.”</p><p>Bebop nodded, “It’s a trap.”</p><p>Donovan looked at Bebop momentarily, then started moving towards the Wall. “Lucius, summon up some Aerial horses, we’re riding for Balentyne now!”</p><p>Lucius began his chanting and motions, and soon there was a group of horses who could ride the air almost as well as the land.</p><p>The horses stormed towards the groups, and behind those soldiers, the prize that they sought. Donovan explained to them that he believed they could cut off the soldiers from the Keep by closing the doors behind them, then sealing up the mechanics that made the doors unpassable. This would allow them to have free reign of the building in order to cause as much damage as possible.</p><p>As the horses and riders approached the Watch Wall, the archers who had fallen into formation with the rest of the group began loading up their weapons. “The invaders are coming!”, shouting was heard by the soldiers as they readied themselves to fire. The rest of the soldiers fell into line, bracing themselves for a calvary based attack. Arrows began to fly in, with most of them missing, but a few of them connecting with members of the family.</p><p>Just as the group was about to strike the line made by the soldiers, Donovan gave the order to fly up and towards the top of the wall. Most of the soldiers stared in stunned silence as a group of horses literally flew over them, while others cursed the group for their cowardice in battle. The horses were coming to the other side of the wall when Donovan saw him: the man in gleaming Full Plate. Donovan knew exactly who that man was, and what his position here meant for his original plan.</p><p>“Gods damn it all!”, Donovan cursed. Quickly looking around, Donovan pointed at the highest structure in the Keep. “Head for the roof!”, Donovan called out to the rest of them. The man in Full Plate armor stared at the group as they flew out of range.</p><p>Once the team was all on the roof, everyone went to work. Donovan barked out orders that the others efficiently completed. “Lucius, unsummon and call back Lucinda.” “Bebop, imbibe your Mutagen and wait on the next floor down. Make sure no one gets past the staircase.” “Tamsen, get into position behind Bebop and be ready to summon Grasping Tentacles.” With that, Donovan took a breath, and began working on dismantling the machinery that was located on the roof.</p><p>Bebop and Tamsen went downstairs through the trap door in the roof. Bebop consumed a flask that he had prepared earlier this morning, and his body one more begin to shift and change. Tamsen whispered soft words of a Protective Ward on him, then drew a breath, “We’re going to fight every single person left in the Keep right here?”</p><p>Bebop gritted his teeth, “Donovan usually has a plan for everything.”</p><p>A few seconds after Donovan finished dismantling the weapon, Lucius had resummoned Lucinda. “Great work! Now we need to use her and Bebop in order to pin down everyone coming up the stairs.”, Donovan considered the shape of the room, and the choke point that the stairway provided.</p><p>The rest of the team joined Tamsen and Bebop downstairs, and Lucius and Bebop organized their positioning to take advantage of the area they had to work with. Meanwhile, Donovan began to investigate the separate rooms near the staircase, with Tamsen following, her curiosity piqued.</p><p>In one of the rooms, Donovan found a chest. His face grimacing, Donovan pulled out a pair of thieves’ tools, and began picking the lock. “This is not my forte.”, Donovan said exasperated. This statement turned out to be quite timely, as Donovan missed the trap switches in the back of the chest, causing him and Tamsen to receive a small electrical shock, and setting off a loud and annoying alarm.</p><p>Breaking out his Healer’s Kit, Donovan pulled out a soothing balm and began to apply it to his fingertips where the electricity made contact. He then offered some to Tamsen, who was also singed, but had some natural resistance. “Sorry, love.” Tamsen merely smiled and kissed Donovan on the lips, “Tsk, tsk, Donovan. You’re distracted right now.”</p><p>Donovan pressed on into the other room, which he surmised to be the Commander’s bedroom. His eyes were drawn to the portrait of a beautiful woman. “His former wife.”, Donovan spoke in passing. “Former?”, Tamsen queried Donovan. Donovan’s hand stretched out over the candles surrounding the portrait, “Remembrance candles. I would never let you go like that, my love.” Donovan’s eyes faced Tamsen with grim focus, and she looked back at him, “Obviously not, Donovan. You’ll never find another like me.” Tamsen giggled, clearly trying to lighten the mood.</p><p>Looking around further, Donovan found a holy book of Mitra, well worn and taken great care of. As Donovan idly flipped through the pages, he found a family tree for Commander Havelyn, which also showed the man had a son. More interesting, however, was the part of the book that had been altered, as if a name was being removed.</p><p>Voices could be heard approaching the stairs now, and Donovan instructed Tamsen to help aid the group in keeping the soldiers from climbing the stairs. Donovan was about to join her, but something about that book drew him back. He focused on the page longer, attempting to read the maligned text. “Samuel Havelyn, Cardinal of Mitra.”, Donovan spoke to himself.</p><p>Something about those words continued to ring in his head. Why would the Commander attempt to cover up his brother, a priest of Mitra? “Not a priest, a Cardinal.” Recognition began to flash through Donovan’s mind. He remembered the conversation he had with Sakkarot. “That man seeks to call himself a Cardinal but is only a Cardinal of the Mitran faith.” Donovan looked up again at the picture of the Lady Bronwyn, and the candles surrounding her. All of the pieces fell together into Donovan’s mind.</p><p>Donavan put his face in his hands, and began to laugh, ignoring the sounds of the battle taking place just outside the door.</p><p>Bebop reveled in destruction when he chose to, and this moment was pure mitigated destruction. Between the quick and powerful moves of Lucinda, the effortless mental attacks of Tamsen, and his own enhanced abilities, the soldiers were little more than nuisances waiting to be swatted away. And oh, how Bebop could swat! His powerful attacks could easily rend through these soldiers before they could even realize they were dead. “Come on, I thought you were Talingarde’s finest? Is this all you have for us?”</p><p>Lucinda, being an Eidolon, was not one given to braggadocio. She was content in that her master was pleased with her, and that her efforts were proving effective. The stairs indeed proved to be a terrible choke point for the soldiers, being unable to fully protect themselves while moving up the staircase. Those few halberdiers who planned to move into Bebop were struck low by Lucinda’s own long weapon.</p><p>Eventually, dozens of soldiers lay dead on the staircase or at the bottom. As Bebop looked down the stairs for the next person he would be able to slaughter, he saw two men standing there. One of them was the man in Full Plate that Donovan seemed to want to avoid. The other was clearly a religious man of some sort. “Uh, Donovan, there’s someone else here.”, Bebop called into the bedroom.</p><p>Donovan strolled out, tapped Bebop on the shoulder and said “Enlarge Person.”, before looking at the two soldiers and smiling weakly. The two men reached the top of the stairs unimpeded by the group. Donovan sighed, “Commander Havelyn, it’s an honor to finally meet you. I don’t suppose there’s any way I could convince you to take the rest of you men, and help get the citizens of Aldencross to safety, is there?”</p><p>Havelyn stared at Donovan with a surly look, “Lay down your arms lest your endanger your lives and your very souls with this villainy.”</p><p>“Right, I thought as much.”, Donovan continued, not expecting much different. Looking over at the religious man, Donovan continued, “How about you, Father Donnagin? There’s a lot of good you and your Acolytes could do for this town. After the bugbears move past, having a group of devoted healers could really give the people hope.” Donovan looked Donnagin in the eyes, hoping to find some sense of empathy or common ground they could unite behind; but Donovan only found the eyes of a zealot staring back at him. “The forces of Mitra will never fall to the likes of you scum!”</p><p>Donovan shrugged his shoulders. Going in, he knew that this was the most likely statistical outcome; but he truly wanted to turn things around before it was all lost. “Kill them.”, Donovan stated without enthusiasm.</p><p>The family had already coordinated the plan of attack before the battle was even engaged. Tamsen brought up a set of Grasping Tentacles at the officers’ feet. Unwilling to remain in such an obvious sacrilege, Havelyn stepped out between Bebop and Lucinda. This spelled the beginning of the end for the officers, as Lucinda immediately took advantage of Havelyn’s position in order to trip him to the ground. Once fallen, Bebop exploited the opportunity to fully unleash his rage. It was all Donnagin could do just to heal up Havelyn to prevent him from passing to the great beyond. Havelyn would right himself, but the advantage of range that Bebop and Lucinda possessed put Havelyn in an impossible situation.</p><p>For just a moment, they all thought it was far too easy.</p><p>It was in that moment that Tacitus appeared leaning in from the trap door above them. Apparently, Tacitus had used the onslaught to fly over to the roof, and attack from a different prong. Donovan had not calculated for this. Donovan, Tamsen, and Bebop reeled from the force of the Fireball that was launched in such close proximity.</p><p>Donovan consumed a flask, granting him Expeditious Retreat. Quickly, he sped up to the top of the trap door, only to find that Captain Barhold was waiting to attack. A quick slice cut into Donovan’s flesh, as he almost fell back down the trap door, and scrambled to the bedroom doorway in order to gain a moment of cover.</p><p>Lucinda and Bebop continued to press their advantage, even as the flames licked across Bebop’s flesh. Donovan rushed back to the group, attempting to use Cure Light Wounds in order to grant the team some respite. “Finish him already, we have to get to the roof!”</p><p>Another blast came down from Tactitus, continuing to wither away the health of the family. In frustration, Donovan grabbed his blade, already full of the hatred he had for these people, and stabbed it into Havelyn’s fallen form.</p><p>It was in that moment that the next blast crashed through the room. Tacitus was no longer even attempting to distinguish friend from foe. Donovan saw the tentacles fade away, as Tamsen’s body hit the floor.</p><p>Bebop screamed and cursed as he saw Tamsen fell. He grabbed her form, quickly moving her into the room furthest away from the trap door. He set down her broken form, and administered healing to her.</p><p>Lucius and Lucinda followed behind Bebop, only waiting just long enough for Donovan to enter the room before bracing the door behind them.</p><p>Donovan threw open his Healer’s Kit, as vials and ingredients skittered across the floor. For the next few moments, Donovan sat over all of them, administering healing in every form and way he knew, leaving nothing behind. The group looked markedly better, although their injuries were still somewhat present.</p><p>“Now what?”, an exasperated Lucius asked.</p><p>“Bebop, hold the door. Lucius, unsummon Lucinda and summon Earth Elementals. We’re going to force him to use up every spell he still has left.”, Donovan’s voice was shaking now, continuing to look back at Tamsen who was laying on the ground.</p><p>Lucius and Bebop complied, and soon a group of Earth Elementals was engaging whatever was on the other side of the door. A force attempted to push through the door, but it was no match for Bebop’s enhanced strength.</p><p>Seconds continued to pass, Donovan was sitting next to Tamsen, looking down on her, watching her breathe. Lucius called out, “Are we going now?” Donovan did not respond, continuing to observe Tamsen, his hands shaking. Frustrated, Lucius walked over next to where Donovan was sitting, and slapped him hard in the face. Donovan’s gaze snapped to Lucius, fire in his stare.</p><p>“Are we going now?”, Lucius repeated the question forcefully.</p><p>Donovan listened to the sounds outside the door, “It sounds like the combat has died down. At the very least, I don’t hear the distinctive sounds of a Fireball eating up all the air in the room.” Donovan then turned his gaze to Bebop, “The next person that tries to come through, let them. We’ll start killing our way out.”</p><p>The door was pushed again, but this time Bebop let the door fall open, and immediately closed it behind the individual. Donovan ran the person through, realizing only too late that it was merely another unfortunate soldier who had gotten in over his head. Donovan felt his remorse at killing such a hapless fool, but considered if the soldier would have shown him any mercy were the situations reversed.</p><p>After stopping only briefly to allow Bebop to annihilate Captain Barhold, the group took stock of the remains within this room. Bodies were once again stacked on top of each other, as the debris of rock was strewn across the floor. There was far too much to carry inside of the backpack, so Donovan threw the bedding from Commander Havelyn’s bed onto the floor, tossed all the items of interest onto the sheet, then tied the whole thing up with a rope and instructed Lucius to have Lucinda carry it down the stairs.</p><p>On the next floor down, the group discovered what was surely the workshop for Tacitus. Wherever the mage had decided to go, he had not made any effort to reclaim his possessions. Taking advantage of their good fortune, they found a few items of note, including some Wolfsbane and a Cauldron of Brewing. But, the true find for the party was to discover the spell book of Tacitus. Bebop grinned wickedly, “Aw, no more spells for that bastard!” For spite, Donovan had Bebop toss one of the holy symbols of Asmodeus into the box that once held the spell book. Donovan pondered who might be the first person to discover that amulet, and what their reaction might be.</p><p>As the group entered the lowest level of the Keep, and then exited out into the courtyard, the remaining soldiers and acolytes began to take up defensive positions where they stood. It was obvious from a glance that the remaining soldiers were in no position to keep fighting. With the loss of their leadership and having witnessed the brutality in which some of their numbers were killed, they hoped only to bring some semblance of honor to their passing.</p><p>“Alright gentlemen, it’s time for you to pack up and leave this place.”, Donovan stepped forward, opening his hands and approaching the group. “It’s not safe for you to stay here. The bugbears will arrive soon, and you will not survive their numbers.” The remaining soldiers, confused now, relaxed their military stances. “You don’t mean to fight us?”, one of the soldiers meekly asked? “Fight you?”, Donovan replied with a sound of shock in his voice, “My goal was always to get you out of here, so that you could help evacuate as much of Aldencross as possible in the time remaining.” The soldiers were now all clearly befuddled at the impossibility of what this man in front of them. “Sadly,”, Donovan continued, “your leadership would not heed my warnings, and now they are no longer among us.”</p><p>The soldiers congregated amongst themselves. Could it really be as easy as being described by this young man and the individuals accompanying him? Would they actually let them go if they so chose to leave? Some of the soldiers were unconvinced, and instead went into the nearby church, while saying, “Mitra will protect us in there!” Others, however, were more pragmatic and hopeful. One of them approached Donovan, “Sir, we’d like to leave.” Donovan nodded at the young man. “Below the Armory, in the section where the foodstuffs are held, there is a doorway against the western wall, made to look like the rest of the wall. There is a discolored stone towards the bottom of the wall. Push that stone, and you will have access to a passageway that leads back to the Lord’s Dalliance Inn. My family and I have taken several of the barrels of food and water that were being stored, and moved them over into that passageway. Take your men, get as many people as you can, and take refuge in there for the next few days. Once the bugbears have moved on, you and the other soldiers can help provide aid to the many townspeople who will need it.” The soldier stared at Donovan aghast, “Why are you doing this? You’re my enemy!” Donovan shook his head, “In the end, we are all citizens of Talingarde.”</p><p>With that, the family departed and headed back towards Barhold’s quarters. A simple man, there was little of worth in his room, but they did find a Commendation Medallion that he had earned in his service to the kingdom. “We should give this to his brother.”, Donovan said solemnly. Bebop was clearly unimpressed, especially at the thought of losing gold, but he had long since knew that Donovan would do exactly what his mind was set to.</p><p>The conversation with Bellam did not go well. Bebop was holding Bellam back as Donovan tried to explain what had happened to his brother, and how the only thing that could be done now was to attempt to save as much of the city as possible. Bellam said he would speak with the Mayor of the town about what was coming, and the plans that could be made. Donovan and the rest of the family even met with the Mayor in order to discuss what should be done. “Every available ship must be used to get the people out of this area and into the safety of the lake.”, Donovan insisted. “If you try to flee this town on foot, you will be caught and killed by them.” The citizens had all the expected emotions: denial, rage, grief. But none of these would change the outcome of what would take place in a few days.</p><p>As the last few days counted down before the bugbears were in place, the family went through to make sure all the gates were open and disabled, and all the tools that would be used to repel invaders were deactivated. While they continued to work, Donovan would find and attempt to dissuade any remaining soldiers from continuing to stay there.</p><p>Finally, on the 14th day, Donovan made one last attempt to save the people in the church. Knocking calmly, he called out to the soldiers. “Please, I urge you to leave this place. There is no time left, and you will be killed if you remain here. Don’t you want to go home and see your families?” The remaining soldiers rebuffed Donovan once more, “We have nothing to fear! Mitra will protect us from you monsters!” Donovan sighed, knowing their fates were sealed. With that, the flare gun was handed to Lucius. “Have her go to the highest point in the Keep and fire the pistol.” Lucius nodded, then gave wings to Lucinda as she flew up to the tower. From there, she pulled the trigger, as the red light ascended to the heavens.</p><p>Time passed, and the bugbears would soon arrive. However, there was no war for them to fight, no battles to be won. For Balantyne, the building was almost deserted, with everything of value picked clean. A few “fortunate” bugbears ended up discovering the church where the remaining soldiers had holed up. Apparently, there was a group of Lantern Archons located within, enough even for them to be able to merge their forms together. While a few bugbears were slain by the Archon, the impact to the army was almost negligible. Balentyne was ended in a whimper, with little to entertain the troops. Even moving out into Aldencross proved generally uninteresting, as the Mayor had successfully coordinated with all the shipping vessels to pull just far enough out into the lake to be an unappealing group of targets. And, while the city would burn, the individuals who had taken refuge in the tunnels were safe, and would be able to provide assistance to the town once the bugbears had taken their leave.</p><p>Sakkarot Fire-Axe took notice of all these things, then looked at Donovan. “You are quite effective at eliminating our enemies.” Donovan looked back at him, his face unchanged, “It would appear that way.” Soon after, Grumblejack arrived next to the group. The family smiled and Tamsen hugged him. Sakkarot spoke up once more, “Your friend here is a powerful warrior. He would be welcome among my ranks.” Donovan smiled at Sakkarot, “That’s not my decision, that’s his.” Grumblejack nodded, then pointed to Donovan, “I’m staying with you, boss.”</p><p>With that, Sakkarot opened the clay tablet that was given to him, and whispered into the center, “It is done.” A brief flicker of light came from the center of the tablet, and then it faded. Donovan also broke open his clay tablet, but nothing appeared to happen at first.</p><p>Shortly though, Tiadora appeared, with a chest in her hand. Bebop moved up and held the chest in his arms, so Donovan could take a better look at it. “Platinum. Five Thousand Gold worth, unless I miss my guess.” The chest included a note from Adrastus Thorn, which immediately brought thoughts back to his mind. Yes, he would need to speak with Adrastus about the meaning of the book, why critical information was left out of the mission.</p><p>Tiadora led them along the bank to a waiting ship, far from the docks. As she walked, Tiadora continued to elaborate about the events taking place throughout the area. She clearly was bragging about the efforts she had made to set certain events up, but doing it in her “Tiadora” way. Donovan played along, smiling and doting on the events along the way, feigning excitement about her efforts. “Come, my Lords. Your ship awaits.”, she said as she motioned to the entrance of the ship.</p><p>“Ah, back on a boat again. It seems like we were just here.”, Donovan laughed. “That’s fine, I have a lot of work ahead of me anyway.” As before, there were no sleeping quarters, as even the limited Captain’s Quarters had been taken over by Tiadora. Talking to the sailors was useless, since she had already done to them what she did to all the servants in Thorn’s manor.</p><p>“We sail for Farholde.”, Tiadora spoke up, before returning to her quarters. Donovan would estimate that Farholde was almost two weeks away, assuming a ship was to anchor for the night. However, when the ship did anchor, it appeared that it was always near a coastal town, during which Tiadora would apparently teleport herself away. Each night, after she left, Bebop would begin harassing Donovan, “Come on Donovan, you have to help me get some alone time with Tiadora.” How many times had Donovan told Bebop that Tiadora was not humanoid, and certainly didn’t have any of the “parts” that would make the experience worth the trouble. But Bebop would press on, wanting to prove something to himself.</p><p>After the third night, Donovan’s patience had reached its end. “No problem, Bebop, I’ll take care of it for you.” Bebop’s eyes lit up at the prospects. Tiadora had just returned from one of her coastal visits, and when Donovan approached, she assumed he was there for information. “I imagine you have questions, Donovan.”, Tiadora stared intently at Donovan. “Actually, good lady, I was hoping you would do me a favor. My friend Bebop is clearly an idiot, but he won’t stop pestering me on this matter. So, if you would please, I’d like you to spend some… intimate time with Bebop, in order that he might better focus on the task at hand.” Tiadora’s eyes narrowed as she gained understanding of what Donovan was asking for, “My evenings are busy Donovan, I don’t have time for…” Donovan interrupted her, “Please don’t mistake my request, I’m not asking for you to make him happy. I’m asking for him to make you happy.” A sly grin came over Donovan’s face. “I think he needs insight on the sort of… woman that you are. And, I think you would enjoy the opportunity to indulge yourself with him as you please.” Those words reached Tiadora’s ears, “Do you mean what I think you mean, Donovan?” Donovan pointed at Tiadora, “Don’t do anything to him I can’t fix by the time we reach Farholde. But beyond that…” Donovan shrugged, and stepped back smiling.</p><p>A wicked, almost inhuman grin appeared on Tiadora’s face. She picked up Bebop, and walked into the Captain’s Quarters with him. Bebop was enthused about the opportunity, and Tiadora went to great pains to show him what he was actually asking for. Bebop watched as Tiadora’s legs became a mass of tentacles, wrapping around him and pushing him onto the bed. Amazingly, almost impossibly, Bebop still managed to get out of his pants, his erection fully visible to Tiadora. Disgust filled her eyes as she grappled him against the frame of the bed, almost crushing it in the process.</p><p>“You are a pathetic creature, and deserve to suffer as few have known. If it were not for your commander asking that no irreparable harm was to come to you before Farholde, I would tear that member of yours off. Perhaps then, you could be of better service to my master and your leader.” With that, Tiadora’s tentacles crushed and tossed him around the quarters. After becoming bored with the activity, Tiadora threw him out onto the deck of the ship, still naked and now bruised and sore. Bebop rose to his feet, showing everyone on the deck the state of his manhood, then passed out.</p><p>Donovan began applying healing salves to Bebop’s body, snickering to himself at what transpired. “You’re the only guy I know who would pass on a Succubus to have a shot at a Handmaiden.”</p><p></p><p>Session 12 ends</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="rchodges, post: 8518544, member: 7031385"] [B]Part 1:[/B] Knot of Thorns [B]Act 4: [/B]Burning Balentyne! [B]Session 12:[/B] Shards of the Broken Wall “They’re coming out!”, Lucius excitedly relayed to the rest of the group, “I think we’re about to have our conflict!” Donovan was confused by this. While the situation in the Watch Wall could not be going well for the soldiers, it was only three days since the food supplies had been cut. There was no way Commander Havelyn could already be desperate. “What is Lucinda seeing exactly?”, Donovan pressed Lucius for more information. Lucius elaborated further. According to the information he was receiving from the Eidolon, two groups of soldiers had come out in front of Balentyne, each of them in a Chevron formation. Additionally, archers were standing on the top of the primary Keep wall leading back into Aldencross. While Lucinda could hear shouting coming from the groups of soldiers, she couldn’t make out the specifics of what was being said. Bebop spoke up excitedly, “They are going to attack the city for food supplies. I know how this military is, as soon as things start going bad, they’ll take what they want from the civilians.” Donovan pondered Bebop’s statement and smiled briefly. Oh, if only that were true! It would be a way for his family to show Talingarde for all its shortcomings. But Donovan remained skeptical. “I would suspect they are performing drills, trying to see if there’s any response.” Bebop nodded, “It’s a trap.” Donovan looked at Bebop momentarily, then started moving towards the Wall. “Lucius, summon up some Aerial horses, we’re riding for Balentyne now!” Lucius began his chanting and motions, and soon there was a group of horses who could ride the air almost as well as the land. The horses stormed towards the groups, and behind those soldiers, the prize that they sought. Donovan explained to them that he believed they could cut off the soldiers from the Keep by closing the doors behind them, then sealing up the mechanics that made the doors unpassable. This would allow them to have free reign of the building in order to cause as much damage as possible. As the horses and riders approached the Watch Wall, the archers who had fallen into formation with the rest of the group began loading up their weapons. “The invaders are coming!”, shouting was heard by the soldiers as they readied themselves to fire. The rest of the soldiers fell into line, bracing themselves for a calvary based attack. Arrows began to fly in, with most of them missing, but a few of them connecting with members of the family. Just as the group was about to strike the line made by the soldiers, Donovan gave the order to fly up and towards the top of the wall. Most of the soldiers stared in stunned silence as a group of horses literally flew over them, while others cursed the group for their cowardice in battle. The horses were coming to the other side of the wall when Donovan saw him: the man in gleaming Full Plate. Donovan knew exactly who that man was, and what his position here meant for his original plan. “Gods damn it all!”, Donovan cursed. Quickly looking around, Donovan pointed at the highest structure in the Keep. “Head for the roof!”, Donovan called out to the rest of them. The man in Full Plate armor stared at the group as they flew out of range. Once the team was all on the roof, everyone went to work. Donovan barked out orders that the others efficiently completed. “Lucius, unsummon and call back Lucinda.” “Bebop, imbibe your Mutagen and wait on the next floor down. Make sure no one gets past the staircase.” “Tamsen, get into position behind Bebop and be ready to summon Grasping Tentacles.” With that, Donovan took a breath, and began working on dismantling the machinery that was located on the roof. Bebop and Tamsen went downstairs through the trap door in the roof. Bebop consumed a flask that he had prepared earlier this morning, and his body one more begin to shift and change. Tamsen whispered soft words of a Protective Ward on him, then drew a breath, “We’re going to fight every single person left in the Keep right here?” Bebop gritted his teeth, “Donovan usually has a plan for everything.” A few seconds after Donovan finished dismantling the weapon, Lucius had resummoned Lucinda. “Great work! Now we need to use her and Bebop in order to pin down everyone coming up the stairs.”, Donovan considered the shape of the room, and the choke point that the stairway provided. The rest of the team joined Tamsen and Bebop downstairs, and Lucius and Bebop organized their positioning to take advantage of the area they had to work with. Meanwhile, Donovan began to investigate the separate rooms near the staircase, with Tamsen following, her curiosity piqued. In one of the rooms, Donovan found a chest. His face grimacing, Donovan pulled out a pair of thieves’ tools, and began picking the lock. “This is not my forte.”, Donovan said exasperated. This statement turned out to be quite timely, as Donovan missed the trap switches in the back of the chest, causing him and Tamsen to receive a small electrical shock, and setting off a loud and annoying alarm. Breaking out his Healer’s Kit, Donovan pulled out a soothing balm and began to apply it to his fingertips where the electricity made contact. He then offered some to Tamsen, who was also singed, but had some natural resistance. “Sorry, love.” Tamsen merely smiled and kissed Donovan on the lips, “Tsk, tsk, Donovan. You’re distracted right now.” Donovan pressed on into the other room, which he surmised to be the Commander’s bedroom. His eyes were drawn to the portrait of a beautiful woman. “His former wife.”, Donovan spoke in passing. “Former?”, Tamsen queried Donovan. Donovan’s hand stretched out over the candles surrounding the portrait, “Remembrance candles. I would never let you go like that, my love.” Donovan’s eyes faced Tamsen with grim focus, and she looked back at him, “Obviously not, Donovan. You’ll never find another like me.” Tamsen giggled, clearly trying to lighten the mood. Looking around further, Donovan found a holy book of Mitra, well worn and taken great care of. As Donovan idly flipped through the pages, he found a family tree for Commander Havelyn, which also showed the man had a son. More interesting, however, was the part of the book that had been altered, as if a name was being removed. Voices could be heard approaching the stairs now, and Donovan instructed Tamsen to help aid the group in keeping the soldiers from climbing the stairs. Donovan was about to join her, but something about that book drew him back. He focused on the page longer, attempting to read the maligned text. “Samuel Havelyn, Cardinal of Mitra.”, Donovan spoke to himself. Something about those words continued to ring in his head. Why would the Commander attempt to cover up his brother, a priest of Mitra? “Not a priest, a Cardinal.” Recognition began to flash through Donovan’s mind. He remembered the conversation he had with Sakkarot. “That man seeks to call himself a Cardinal but is only a Cardinal of the Mitran faith.” Donovan looked up again at the picture of the Lady Bronwyn, and the candles surrounding her. All of the pieces fell together into Donovan’s mind. Donavan put his face in his hands, and began to laugh, ignoring the sounds of the battle taking place just outside the door. Bebop reveled in destruction when he chose to, and this moment was pure mitigated destruction. Between the quick and powerful moves of Lucinda, the effortless mental attacks of Tamsen, and his own enhanced abilities, the soldiers were little more than nuisances waiting to be swatted away. And oh, how Bebop could swat! His powerful attacks could easily rend through these soldiers before they could even realize they were dead. “Come on, I thought you were Talingarde’s finest? Is this all you have for us?” Lucinda, being an Eidolon, was not one given to braggadocio. She was content in that her master was pleased with her, and that her efforts were proving effective. The stairs indeed proved to be a terrible choke point for the soldiers, being unable to fully protect themselves while moving up the staircase. Those few halberdiers who planned to move into Bebop were struck low by Lucinda’s own long weapon. Eventually, dozens of soldiers lay dead on the staircase or at the bottom. As Bebop looked down the stairs for the next person he would be able to slaughter, he saw two men standing there. One of them was the man in Full Plate that Donovan seemed to want to avoid. The other was clearly a religious man of some sort. “Uh, Donovan, there’s someone else here.”, Bebop called into the bedroom. Donovan strolled out, tapped Bebop on the shoulder and said “Enlarge Person.”, before looking at the two soldiers and smiling weakly. The two men reached the top of the stairs unimpeded by the group. Donovan sighed, “Commander Havelyn, it’s an honor to finally meet you. I don’t suppose there’s any way I could convince you to take the rest of you men, and help get the citizens of Aldencross to safety, is there?” Havelyn stared at Donovan with a surly look, “Lay down your arms lest your endanger your lives and your very souls with this villainy.” “Right, I thought as much.”, Donovan continued, not expecting much different. Looking over at the religious man, Donovan continued, “How about you, Father Donnagin? There’s a lot of good you and your Acolytes could do for this town. After the bugbears move past, having a group of devoted healers could really give the people hope.” Donovan looked Donnagin in the eyes, hoping to find some sense of empathy or common ground they could unite behind; but Donovan only found the eyes of a zealot staring back at him. “The forces of Mitra will never fall to the likes of you scum!” Donovan shrugged his shoulders. Going in, he knew that this was the most likely statistical outcome; but he truly wanted to turn things around before it was all lost. “Kill them.”, Donovan stated without enthusiasm. The family had already coordinated the plan of attack before the battle was even engaged. Tamsen brought up a set of Grasping Tentacles at the officers’ feet. Unwilling to remain in such an obvious sacrilege, Havelyn stepped out between Bebop and Lucinda. This spelled the beginning of the end for the officers, as Lucinda immediately took advantage of Havelyn’s position in order to trip him to the ground. Once fallen, Bebop exploited the opportunity to fully unleash his rage. It was all Donnagin could do just to heal up Havelyn to prevent him from passing to the great beyond. Havelyn would right himself, but the advantage of range that Bebop and Lucinda possessed put Havelyn in an impossible situation. For just a moment, they all thought it was far too easy. It was in that moment that Tacitus appeared leaning in from the trap door above them. Apparently, Tacitus had used the onslaught to fly over to the roof, and attack from a different prong. Donovan had not calculated for this. Donovan, Tamsen, and Bebop reeled from the force of the Fireball that was launched in such close proximity. Donovan consumed a flask, granting him Expeditious Retreat. Quickly, he sped up to the top of the trap door, only to find that Captain Barhold was waiting to attack. A quick slice cut into Donovan’s flesh, as he almost fell back down the trap door, and scrambled to the bedroom doorway in order to gain a moment of cover. Lucinda and Bebop continued to press their advantage, even as the flames licked across Bebop’s flesh. Donovan rushed back to the group, attempting to use Cure Light Wounds in order to grant the team some respite. “Finish him already, we have to get to the roof!” Another blast came down from Tactitus, continuing to wither away the health of the family. In frustration, Donovan grabbed his blade, already full of the hatred he had for these people, and stabbed it into Havelyn’s fallen form. It was in that moment that the next blast crashed through the room. Tacitus was no longer even attempting to distinguish friend from foe. Donovan saw the tentacles fade away, as Tamsen’s body hit the floor. Bebop screamed and cursed as he saw Tamsen fell. He grabbed her form, quickly moving her into the room furthest away from the trap door. He set down her broken form, and administered healing to her. Lucius and Lucinda followed behind Bebop, only waiting just long enough for Donovan to enter the room before bracing the door behind them. Donovan threw open his Healer’s Kit, as vials and ingredients skittered across the floor. For the next few moments, Donovan sat over all of them, administering healing in every form and way he knew, leaving nothing behind. The group looked markedly better, although their injuries were still somewhat present. “Now what?”, an exasperated Lucius asked. “Bebop, hold the door. Lucius, unsummon Lucinda and summon Earth Elementals. We’re going to force him to use up every spell he still has left.”, Donovan’s voice was shaking now, continuing to look back at Tamsen who was laying on the ground. Lucius and Bebop complied, and soon a group of Earth Elementals was engaging whatever was on the other side of the door. A force attempted to push through the door, but it was no match for Bebop’s enhanced strength. Seconds continued to pass, Donovan was sitting next to Tamsen, looking down on her, watching her breathe. Lucius called out, “Are we going now?” Donovan did not respond, continuing to observe Tamsen, his hands shaking. Frustrated, Lucius walked over next to where Donovan was sitting, and slapped him hard in the face. Donovan’s gaze snapped to Lucius, fire in his stare. “Are we going now?”, Lucius repeated the question forcefully. Donovan listened to the sounds outside the door, “It sounds like the combat has died down. At the very least, I don’t hear the distinctive sounds of a Fireball eating up all the air in the room.” Donovan then turned his gaze to Bebop, “The next person that tries to come through, let them. We’ll start killing our way out.” The door was pushed again, but this time Bebop let the door fall open, and immediately closed it behind the individual. Donovan ran the person through, realizing only too late that it was merely another unfortunate soldier who had gotten in over his head. Donovan felt his remorse at killing such a hapless fool, but considered if the soldier would have shown him any mercy were the situations reversed. After stopping only briefly to allow Bebop to annihilate Captain Barhold, the group took stock of the remains within this room. Bodies were once again stacked on top of each other, as the debris of rock was strewn across the floor. There was far too much to carry inside of the backpack, so Donovan threw the bedding from Commander Havelyn’s bed onto the floor, tossed all the items of interest onto the sheet, then tied the whole thing up with a rope and instructed Lucius to have Lucinda carry it down the stairs. On the next floor down, the group discovered what was surely the workshop for Tacitus. Wherever the mage had decided to go, he had not made any effort to reclaim his possessions. Taking advantage of their good fortune, they found a few items of note, including some Wolfsbane and a Cauldron of Brewing. But, the true find for the party was to discover the spell book of Tacitus. Bebop grinned wickedly, “Aw, no more spells for that bastard!” For spite, Donovan had Bebop toss one of the holy symbols of Asmodeus into the box that once held the spell book. Donovan pondered who might be the first person to discover that amulet, and what their reaction might be. As the group entered the lowest level of the Keep, and then exited out into the courtyard, the remaining soldiers and acolytes began to take up defensive positions where they stood. It was obvious from a glance that the remaining soldiers were in no position to keep fighting. With the loss of their leadership and having witnessed the brutality in which some of their numbers were killed, they hoped only to bring some semblance of honor to their passing. “Alright gentlemen, it’s time for you to pack up and leave this place.”, Donovan stepped forward, opening his hands and approaching the group. “It’s not safe for you to stay here. The bugbears will arrive soon, and you will not survive their numbers.” The remaining soldiers, confused now, relaxed their military stances. “You don’t mean to fight us?”, one of the soldiers meekly asked? “Fight you?”, Donovan replied with a sound of shock in his voice, “My goal was always to get you out of here, so that you could help evacuate as much of Aldencross as possible in the time remaining.” The soldiers were now all clearly befuddled at the impossibility of what this man in front of them. “Sadly,”, Donovan continued, “your leadership would not heed my warnings, and now they are no longer among us.” The soldiers congregated amongst themselves. Could it really be as easy as being described by this young man and the individuals accompanying him? Would they actually let them go if they so chose to leave? Some of the soldiers were unconvinced, and instead went into the nearby church, while saying, “Mitra will protect us in there!” Others, however, were more pragmatic and hopeful. One of them approached Donovan, “Sir, we’d like to leave.” Donovan nodded at the young man. “Below the Armory, in the section where the foodstuffs are held, there is a doorway against the western wall, made to look like the rest of the wall. There is a discolored stone towards the bottom of the wall. Push that stone, and you will have access to a passageway that leads back to the Lord’s Dalliance Inn. My family and I have taken several of the barrels of food and water that were being stored, and moved them over into that passageway. Take your men, get as many people as you can, and take refuge in there for the next few days. Once the bugbears have moved on, you and the other soldiers can help provide aid to the many townspeople who will need it.” The soldier stared at Donovan aghast, “Why are you doing this? You’re my enemy!” Donovan shook his head, “In the end, we are all citizens of Talingarde.” With that, the family departed and headed back towards Barhold’s quarters. A simple man, there was little of worth in his room, but they did find a Commendation Medallion that he had earned in his service to the kingdom. “We should give this to his brother.”, Donovan said solemnly. Bebop was clearly unimpressed, especially at the thought of losing gold, but he had long since knew that Donovan would do exactly what his mind was set to. The conversation with Bellam did not go well. Bebop was holding Bellam back as Donovan tried to explain what had happened to his brother, and how the only thing that could be done now was to attempt to save as much of the city as possible. Bellam said he would speak with the Mayor of the town about what was coming, and the plans that could be made. Donovan and the rest of the family even met with the Mayor in order to discuss what should be done. “Every available ship must be used to get the people out of this area and into the safety of the lake.”, Donovan insisted. “If you try to flee this town on foot, you will be caught and killed by them.” The citizens had all the expected emotions: denial, rage, grief. But none of these would change the outcome of what would take place in a few days. As the last few days counted down before the bugbears were in place, the family went through to make sure all the gates were open and disabled, and all the tools that would be used to repel invaders were deactivated. While they continued to work, Donovan would find and attempt to dissuade any remaining soldiers from continuing to stay there. Finally, on the 14th day, Donovan made one last attempt to save the people in the church. Knocking calmly, he called out to the soldiers. “Please, I urge you to leave this place. There is no time left, and you will be killed if you remain here. Don’t you want to go home and see your families?” The remaining soldiers rebuffed Donovan once more, “We have nothing to fear! Mitra will protect us from you monsters!” Donovan sighed, knowing their fates were sealed. With that, the flare gun was handed to Lucius. “Have her go to the highest point in the Keep and fire the pistol.” Lucius nodded, then gave wings to Lucinda as she flew up to the tower. From there, she pulled the trigger, as the red light ascended to the heavens. Time passed, and the bugbears would soon arrive. However, there was no war for them to fight, no battles to be won. For Balantyne, the building was almost deserted, with everything of value picked clean. A few “fortunate” bugbears ended up discovering the church where the remaining soldiers had holed up. Apparently, there was a group of Lantern Archons located within, enough even for them to be able to merge their forms together. While a few bugbears were slain by the Archon, the impact to the army was almost negligible. Balentyne was ended in a whimper, with little to entertain the troops. Even moving out into Aldencross proved generally uninteresting, as the Mayor had successfully coordinated with all the shipping vessels to pull just far enough out into the lake to be an unappealing group of targets. And, while the city would burn, the individuals who had taken refuge in the tunnels were safe, and would be able to provide assistance to the town once the bugbears had taken their leave. Sakkarot Fire-Axe took notice of all these things, then looked at Donovan. “You are quite effective at eliminating our enemies.” Donovan looked back at him, his face unchanged, “It would appear that way.” Soon after, Grumblejack arrived next to the group. The family smiled and Tamsen hugged him. Sakkarot spoke up once more, “Your friend here is a powerful warrior. He would be welcome among my ranks.” Donovan smiled at Sakkarot, “That’s not my decision, that’s his.” Grumblejack nodded, then pointed to Donovan, “I’m staying with you, boss.” With that, Sakkarot opened the clay tablet that was given to him, and whispered into the center, “It is done.” A brief flicker of light came from the center of the tablet, and then it faded. Donovan also broke open his clay tablet, but nothing appeared to happen at first. Shortly though, Tiadora appeared, with a chest in her hand. Bebop moved up and held the chest in his arms, so Donovan could take a better look at it. “Platinum. Five Thousand Gold worth, unless I miss my guess.” The chest included a note from Adrastus Thorn, which immediately brought thoughts back to his mind. Yes, he would need to speak with Adrastus about the meaning of the book, why critical information was left out of the mission. Tiadora led them along the bank to a waiting ship, far from the docks. As she walked, Tiadora continued to elaborate about the events taking place throughout the area. She clearly was bragging about the efforts she had made to set certain events up, but doing it in her “Tiadora” way. Donovan played along, smiling and doting on the events along the way, feigning excitement about her efforts. “Come, my Lords. Your ship awaits.”, she said as she motioned to the entrance of the ship. “Ah, back on a boat again. It seems like we were just here.”, Donovan laughed. “That’s fine, I have a lot of work ahead of me anyway.” As before, there were no sleeping quarters, as even the limited Captain’s Quarters had been taken over by Tiadora. Talking to the sailors was useless, since she had already done to them what she did to all the servants in Thorn’s manor. “We sail for Farholde.”, Tiadora spoke up, before returning to her quarters. Donovan would estimate that Farholde was almost two weeks away, assuming a ship was to anchor for the night. However, when the ship did anchor, it appeared that it was always near a coastal town, during which Tiadora would apparently teleport herself away. Each night, after she left, Bebop would begin harassing Donovan, “Come on Donovan, you have to help me get some alone time with Tiadora.” How many times had Donovan told Bebop that Tiadora was not humanoid, and certainly didn’t have any of the “parts” that would make the experience worth the trouble. But Bebop would press on, wanting to prove something to himself. After the third night, Donovan’s patience had reached its end. “No problem, Bebop, I’ll take care of it for you.” Bebop’s eyes lit up at the prospects. Tiadora had just returned from one of her coastal visits, and when Donovan approached, she assumed he was there for information. “I imagine you have questions, Donovan.”, Tiadora stared intently at Donovan. “Actually, good lady, I was hoping you would do me a favor. My friend Bebop is clearly an idiot, but he won’t stop pestering me on this matter. So, if you would please, I’d like you to spend some… intimate time with Bebop, in order that he might better focus on the task at hand.” Tiadora’s eyes narrowed as she gained understanding of what Donovan was asking for, “My evenings are busy Donovan, I don’t have time for…” Donovan interrupted her, “Please don’t mistake my request, I’m not asking for you to make him happy. I’m asking for him to make you happy.” A sly grin came over Donovan’s face. “I think he needs insight on the sort of… woman that you are. And, I think you would enjoy the opportunity to indulge yourself with him as you please.” Those words reached Tiadora’s ears, “Do you mean what I think you mean, Donovan?” Donovan pointed at Tiadora, “Don’t do anything to him I can’t fix by the time we reach Farholde. But beyond that…” Donovan shrugged, and stepped back smiling. A wicked, almost inhuman grin appeared on Tiadora’s face. She picked up Bebop, and walked into the Captain’s Quarters with him. Bebop was enthused about the opportunity, and Tiadora went to great pains to show him what he was actually asking for. Bebop watched as Tiadora’s legs became a mass of tentacles, wrapping around him and pushing him onto the bed. Amazingly, almost impossibly, Bebop still managed to get out of his pants, his erection fully visible to Tiadora. Disgust filled her eyes as she grappled him against the frame of the bed, almost crushing it in the process. “You are a pathetic creature, and deserve to suffer as few have known. If it were not for your commander asking that no irreparable harm was to come to you before Farholde, I would tear that member of yours off. Perhaps then, you could be of better service to my master and your leader.” With that, Tiadora’s tentacles crushed and tossed him around the quarters. After becoming bored with the activity, Tiadora threw him out onto the deck of the ship, still naked and now bruised and sore. Bebop rose to his feet, showing everyone on the deck the state of his manhood, then passed out. Donovan began applying healing salves to Bebop’s body, snickering to himself at what transpired. “You’re the only guy I know who would pass on a Succubus to have a shot at a Handmaiden.” Session 12 ends [/QUOTE]
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Way of the Wicked Playthrough - Updated 2023/03/28
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